One-man hand-propelled boat.



K. "E.' FISCHER. one MA'N'HAND PROPELLED BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1. l9l5.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I Skwemibv K. E. FISCHER.

om: MAN HAND PROPELLED BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1. I915.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

2 SHEETSFSHEET 2- KARL E. FISCHER, OF BROOKLYN ,NEW YORK.

ONE-MAN HAND-PROPELLED BOAT.

Application filed June 1, 1915.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, KARL E. FIsoHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in One-Man Hand- Propelled Boats, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in boats and more particularly to hand propelled boats.

The main object of the invention is to provide a non-sinkable one man hand propelled boat which is simple in construction and which it is practically impossible to upset while in the water.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and eflicient propelling means which may be used for moving the boat either forward or backward at the will of the operator.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the descr1ption proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 represents atop plan view of a boat constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line AA of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of the propelling mechanism.

In'the embodiment illustrated the bow 1 of a boat and its stern 2 are made in inclependent sections connected by a keel 3 which extends throughout the entire length of the boat and the lower edge of which is inclined from the front to the rear in the usual manner. A seat .4 is mounted between the rear portion of the bow of the boat and the front portion of the stern thereof, as is shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2, and is secured to the keel by suitable fastening elements, the front edge of said seat being cut away as shown at 5 to fit the legs of the user.

Reinforcing and bracing plates 6 are secured to the keel on opposite sides thereof spanning the space between the bow and stern of the boat and forming an auxiliary support for the seat 4.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916'.

Serial No. 31,634.

Brackets 7 depend from the opposite ends of the-seat 4 and support transversely extending alined shafts 8 and 8'. The shaft 8 extends from the port side of the center of the boat and the other shaft 8 extends from the starboard side of the center of the boat. A center bar 9 is arranged intermediately of the width of the boat below the keel thereof as is shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 4. This center bar 9 is carried by depending rods 10 which extend through said bar and support at their lower ends a ballast bar 11. A connecting and bracing rod 12 is secured at one end to the front end of the ballast bar 11 and at its other end to the front of the bow 1 of the boat, as is shown clearly in Fig. 2.

Bevel gears 13 are secured to the shafts 8 and 8 on opposite sides of the center bar 9 and mesh with cooperating bevel gears 14 carried by the front ends of the propeller shafts 15 which are arranged parallel with each other and extend rearwardly from the shafts or axles 8 and 8' beyond the rear end of the stern of the boat where they are equipped with propelling wheels 16 of any suitable or desired construction. A cross bar 17 connects and. braces these propeller shafts 15 near their front ends as is shown clearly in Fig. 4, and a similar bar 17 supports and braces the rear ends thereof (see Fig. 2). It will thus be seen that when the shafts 8 and 8 are rotated, motion will be imparted by means of these bevel gears to the propellers 16 for driving the boat either backward, forward, orsideward, according to the direction the shafts are rotated, and which is accomplished by means of two pairs of ratchet wheels 18 and 19 disposed at opposite sides of the boat on the shaft 9. The wheels of each pair are spaced laterally apart a sufficient distance to receive between them an actuating lever 20, one of which is loosely mounted on each of the shafts 8 and 8 between the ratchet wheels carried by the shaft, one of said levers being disposed at each side of the boat on the outer end of one of the shafts as is shown clearly inFigs. 1 and 4. These levers 20 carry pawls as 21 on the opposite faces thereofwhich are designed to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheels for imparting motion to the shafts. Flexible elements 22. are connected with the respective pawls 21 and with the levers 20 and are adapted respectively for lifting a pawl to move it out of the path of its co-' operating ratchet wheels so as to render said wheel inoperative, the pawl at the other side of the lever being left in operation so that by operating said levers the boat may be driven. either forward, backward, or sideward, according to the ratchet with which the lever is engaged. It is to be understood that these levers 20 are exactly alike and may be operated either simultaneously or individually by the driver. Suitable bumpers 23 are arranged on the extremities of the shafts 8 and S to protect them against contact with passing objects.

A rudder 24 is hingedly connected to the rear end of the stern of the boat and is adapted to be swung laterally in either direction in the usual manner, according to the direction in which it is desired to steer the boat. A cross bar 25 is connected with the upper end of this rudder and extends on opposite sides thereof and has connected thereto flexible actuating elements preferably in the form of cords 25 which extend along opposite sides of the top of the boat and pass over suitable pulleys 26 and 27 at the front of the stern portion of the boat, downwardly under the boat, and are connected at their front ends to actuating pedals 28. These pedals are mounted on a cross rod 29 (see Fig. 4-) which is adjustably supported on an upright rod 30 by means of a collar 31 having aset screw 32 extending therethrough and engaging said upright 30 to provide for the positioning of the pedals at any desired height on said upright con venient for the operator.

The bow and stern portions 1 and 2 of this boat are constructed of upper and lower layers 33 and 34: composed of cork having arranged between them an intermediate stiffening layer 35 preferably constructed of wood. The several layers are connected by suitable bolts 36 and are secured to the keel 8 by screws 37 which extend downwardly through the layers into the keel as is shown clearly in Fig. 3, the lower layer 37 being recessed to receive the keel. Auxiliary strengthening means are provided in the form of transversely arranged wooden bars 38 as shown in Fig. 2 and through which the fastening bolts 86 pass and which serve to strengthen and brace the bow and stern sections to prevent them from warping or bending out of shape. It will be understood that by so constructing these bow and stern sections of cork that the boat will be rendered practically unsinkable, and by' Figs. 1 and 2, and secured by passing it through eye bolts 40, said cord being designed for use in case of an accident to adapt the boat to be connected with a tug or other boat for drawing it through the water.

A hand rail 11 is shown arranged around the rear end of the bow of the boat in front of the seat of the operator to enable him to grasp it when found desirable for steadying himself.

I claim as my invention:

1. A. boat of the class described comprising longitudinally alined spaced body sections, a keel connecting said sections, a seat mounted on said keel between said sections, propeller shafts arranged below said keel and having propellers at their rear ends, alined shafts extending transversely of the boat below said seat, intermeshing gears on said transverse and propeller shafts, ratchet wheels fixed to each of said transverse shafts, an actuating lever arranged between said wheels on each of said shafts and having pawls positioned to engage the teeth of said wheels, and means under the control of the operator for disengaging said pawls from said teeth, whereby either wheel may be operated at the will of the operator.

A boat of the class described comprising longitudinally alined spaced body sections composed of reinforced buoyant material, a keel connecting said sections, a seat supported by said keel between said sections, a ballast bar depending from said keel, a center bar arranged between said ballast bar and keel, pedals supported by said center bar, a rudder, flexible elements connecting said pedals and rudder, propellers, rotatable shafts connected therewith, hand levers for actuating said shafts, and cooperating means on said shafts and levers for driving the shafts on the actuation of the levers, and means for disconnecting said means to provide for changing the direction of the boat.

3. A boat of the class described including longitudinally spaced body sections composed of upper and lower layers of buoyant material with a stiffening layer between them, bracing members embedded in and extending transversely of said sections, a seat mounted between said sections in alinement with the bottoms thereof, a ballast bar disposed below said seat, and propelling means operable from said seat.

4-. In a boat of the class described, front and rear sections, a seat arranged between them, alined shafts extending transversely of the boat below said seat, buffers on the outer ends of said shafts, pairs of spaced ratchet wheels fixed to said shafts adjacent said buffers, a lever loosely mounted on the outer end of each shaft between each pair of wheels, pawls carried by opposite faces of said levers in position to engage the teeth of said ratchet Wheels, releasing elements nism positioned adjacent said seat for conconnected with said pawls, propeller shafts venient use .by the operator.

extending rearwardly from said transverse KARL E. FISCHER. shafts, bevel gears on said transverse and W'itnesses: I

5 propeller shafts meshing with each other, ALFRED J. PATTERSON, and steering means having operating mecha- CHARLES F. SPAMER.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

